Theodore Activated Off IR, Plays 500th Game as Golden Knight

Just before Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Wild, the Vegas Golden Knights announced that defenseman Shea Theodore had been activated off Injured Reserve.

Theodore hadn’t played since before the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament break. He suffered an injury against Team Sweden on February 12th.

“I was looking forward to that tournament for a long time,” said Shea Theodore. “So to get hurt in the first game, that definitely sucked. The build-up to it, and I was super excited to play and compete with some of the best players in the world. It was tough getting hurt. But there are a lot of positives that I took out of it– just the experience, being around the guys, coaches, management, getting a feel for what it was like… Being around the group was fun. Definitely a great experience.”

Theodore slotted in on the top pairing, replacing Alex Pietrangelo, who the Golden Knights announced is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Tuesday’s game against the Wild was Theodore’s 553rd NHL game and his 500th as a member of the Golden Knights. Theodore became the fourth player to achieve that milestone. The 29-year-old Original Misfit played 53 games for the Anaheim Ducks before they traded him to the Golden Knights in exchange for expansion draft considerations. Theodore has 73 goals and 337 points in his first 499 games as a Golden Knight.

Theodore has been skating and practicing with the team for the past week.

“It’s been good to get back out there and get into a routine,” Theodore said. “[The recovery process] has been long, for sure. You never want to miss any time. Unfortunate injury, but I feel good… I’m feeling fresh.”

Because of Alex Pietrangelo’s injury, 24-year-old Kaedan Korczak remained in the lineup.